After a few more people get up and sing, I realize the theme of the night.

Rock music and all the subcategories. Punk rock, hard rock, classic rock, rap rock, folk rock, and other varieties of rock.

Some of the covers are spot on, others are pretty decent.

“Next up, Skye Knight!”

I stand up and follow Andy up onto the stage. She whispers into the DJ’s ear and he nods. I stand in front of the massive crowd with a microphone in front of me. Some people wander away from the crowd and back to tables or bar stools. I don’t blame them. I look like someone who is getting to sing a church hymn. I take a look over at the DJ. He’s scrolling through a list. I can’t read his screen from where I am, but if it’s taking him this long to find the song, it’s bound to be a song that will get the crowd booing me. Once he finds what he’s looking for, he taps the screen. A song that I would be able to recognize in my sleep starts playing. The words start a second later. The facial expressions on the people around me amuse the crap out of me. Some are confused, some are thrilled. Like A Storm isn’t a band that a little church-loving girl would listen to.

Good think I don’t go to church.

I nail every word because I’ve listened to the song for the last three years. ‘Love The Way You Hate Me’ is my favorite song by them, and Andy was smart to pick it for me.

When the chorus hits, I let myself get lost in the music. People slowly start to reappear from the corners they crawled to earlier. Some mouth the words, some head-bang, and a majority just enjoys the song. I have to admit, the place is packed for a Tuesday.

I block out all the people around me, focusing all my energy on the song.

The last note fades and the crowd goes ballistic. Embarrassment washes over me and I bolt from the stage, walking right by the table to go to the bathroom. There is nobody else in here with me and the walls block out a majority of the noise. The door swings open and Andy enters.

“What’s wrong, Skye?”

“I want to go home.”

Andy raises her eyebrow. She puts her arm around me.

“Why?”

“I just embarrassed myself in front of a bar full of people.”

She puts her hands on my shoulders, spinning me to face her.

“Embarrassed yourself?! When?”

“Just now! When you made me sing!”

She shakes her head, laughing. Apparently something I said is very funny?

“The crowd loves you, Skye! You didn’t embarrass yourself. You’re the crowd’s favorite! You’re a star!”

“Are you sure they aren’t going to laugh at me?”

“Positive. Now let’s get back out there and have fun!”